Oak Forest coach Brian McDonough stood like a soldier who would only give out his tag number while dodging questions regarding the importance of his team’s 34-6 victory over longtime nemesis Bremen.
Oak Forest had endured 10 years and 11 consecutive losses to Bremen and had good reason to be overjoyed after breaking their longtime stranglehold.
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“Those were different teams and different players,” McDonough said afterward, but he told his players in a postgame huddle that this game meant a lot to him.
After a scoreless first half, the Bengals looked like a different offensive team in the second 24 minutes. They scored on their first possession and would score on four of their next five afterward.
Mario Mares (9 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs) started the scoring with a 57-yard run. Chris Swindergal (12 carries, 134 yards) and Rey Grimaldo (6 carries, 101 yards, 2 TDs) followed with runs of 18 and 47 yards, respectively, for a 19-6 lead after three quarters.
The Bengals finished with 415 total yards, all rushing. Their only two passing attempts in the first half were intercepted. They attempted just one pass in the second half.
Bill Harrison.
Glenbard East 27, York 7
Different year, same result.
Glenbard East, which advanced to the Class 6A semifinals last season, picked up where it left off with a 27-7 victory over host York.
Mike Jaber (21 carries, 158 yards) had two touchdowns for the Rams and Paul Peppers added a touchdown as Glenbard East’s defense held York to just three first downs.
“We believe our defense is the key to our team,” Glenbard East coach Dennis Lueck said. “Our kids believe in themselves and they believe in the coaches.”
Glenbard East opened the scoring with 4 minutes 10 seconds left in the first quarter after Brad Martinez picked up a bobbled punt and ran 20 yards to put the Rams up 6-0. Glenbard East took a 14-0 advantage after Jaber scored on a 1-yard dive with 6:35 left in the first half. Jaber then added an insurance touchdown with a 21-yard scamper with 5:56 left.
York scored on a 68-yard pass from Andy Shields to Anthony Cooper with 4:47 left in the fourth.
Joe Yovino.
McHenry 38, Dundee-Crown 7
McHenry scored on five of its seven first-half possessions, including a 78-yard kickoff return for a score, in blasting Dundee-Crown in the Fox Valley. McHenry held Dundee-Crown to negative yardage for the first 22 minutes while amassing 209 first-half yards as five Warriors scored in the opening half.
Fullback Brady Noll led the offensive barrage, rushing 15 times for 96 yards. Quarterback Joe Folliard was solid in his varsity debut, completing 5 of 10 passes for 58 yards and a TD. Nick Guardyak scored McHenry’s final touchdown of the first half on a 78-yard kickoff return.
McHenry’s defense was anchored by C.J. Vroman, who had three sacks.
Dundee-Crown struggled until late in the first half when Scott Komaromy hit Chris O’Kane with a 10-yard scoring strike. Komaromy went 12 for 28 for 123 yards. The Chargers were held to 24 rushing yards.
Sam Natrop.
In other games:
Glenbard North 24, Bartlett 15: Brian Mitchell rushed 20 times for 125 yards and a touchdown as Glenbard North prevailed. Quarterback Dom Demma completed 11 of 24 passes for 168 yards, including a 60-yard TD pass to Eric Markovic, for the victors. Markovic had seven catches for 114 yards.
Lake Forest Academy 26, Delafield (Wis.) St. John’s Northwestern Military 8: Olufemi Adetiba gained 118 yards in 23 carries for Lake Forest. He also scored a touchdown. Teammate Larry Cowherd had two TDs.
Marshall 19, Flower 0: Barnett Walker tossed touchdown passes to Doubton Holmes and Kerrion Cook as the Commandos cruised. Holmes also scored on a 12-yard run. John Floyd led the defense with 13 tackles.
Morgan Park 46, Collins 0: Terry Atkins rushed for 105 yards in 10 carries and scored four touchdowns in the Mustangs’ rout. Reginald Gray added an 83-yard touchdown on a punt return. Morgan Park recorded seven sacks and forced six turnovers.
Sandburg 24, Lyons Township 0: Sandburg rolled despite some glitches on offense. Joe Wassong gained 80 yards in eight carries, rushing for a TD and catching a TD pass from Rick Kozal. Kozal, who also rushed for a score, completed 5 of 16 passes 78 yards. He threw two interceptions.
“Our quarterback was on the money, but we dropped a few,” Sandburg coach Mike Navarro said. “Once we start getting confidence and our timing down, we will be all right on offense because we can throw the ball. We just did not do a good job of it” Friday night.
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Thornton Fractional South 26, Rich Central 6: Pierre Thomas rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown in nine carries and Nick Jensen completed 6 of 10 passes for 146 yards and a TD to lead T.F. South.
Warren 41, Buffalo Grove 0: Matt Vandaele scored on TD runs of 11, 42 and 78 yards to spark Warren. Vandaele gained 189 yards in 10 carries.
“I give total credit to the offensive line and receivers,” Vandaele said. “They do all of the dirty work and it was their blocking downfield that opened things up for me.”
Justin Williams rushed eight times for 100 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns for Warren.
Hampshire 44, St. Edwards 14: Jesus Conejo rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns from 44, 22, and 9 yards to lead Hampshire. Fullback Jamie Walrack rushed 18 times for 133 yards. He had TD runs of 10 and 30 yards.
Bishop McNamara 55, Wheeler (Ind.) 0: Jonathan Dole completed 6 of 9 passes for 140 yards for McNamara. He threw three touchdown passes. Michael Kimberlin sparked McNamara with 135 yards rushing in 14 carries. He scored twice. Jarred Newman caught a TD pass and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score.
Glenbrook South 23, Barrington 14: Jared Schmidt and Tim Salvin scored touchdowns for Glenbrook South, which took a 16-14 lead in the third quarter.
Prospect 34, Fenton 3: Scott Spayd tallied on touchdown runs of 6, 4 and 25 yards for Prospect, which outscored Fenton 27-0 in the fourth quarter. Spayd finished with 106 yards in 13 carries.
Willowbrook 43, Stagg 21: Dave Calendo tossed a 51-yard touchdown pass to Dan Baker to spark a 22-point first quarter. Aaron Burns rushed for 155 yards and three touchdowns to pace Willowbrook.
Steinmetz 6, Washington 0: Armando Reddick grabbed a 35-yard pass from Dogan Genis in the first quarter for the only score of the game. Robert Parks paced Steinmetz with 128 yards rushing.